Richard Sibbes pictures conscience as ‘God’s court within’, and an anticipation of the last judgement:-
‘To clear this further concerning the nature of conscience, know that God hat set up in a man a court, and there is in man all that are in a court.
1. There is a register to take notice of what we have done…The conscience keeps diaries. It sets down everything. It is not forgotten, though we think it is…there is a register that writes it down.…
No, this is not another post about science and faith, but a quotation from Puritan Thomas Brooks about the importance of what these days we might call ‘experiential’ knowledge of Christian truth:-
Hebrews 4:16 urges us to ‘come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’
The Puritan Robert Traill, in the course of preaching a series of sermons from this text, noted that one time of special need of God’s grace is the time of spiritual decay. Here’s a summary.
1. Whence it comes
(a) It comes from the weak and infant state of the new Christian. …
Intercessions in church and in small groups tend to follow a pretty predictable path: jobs, exams, upcoming events, mission partners and, of course, health needs.
Nothing wrong with praying for such things – nothing at all. But the prayers of the Bible are rarely about such things. They are much more frequently about one’s own, and other people’s relationship with God.
Suppose, says David Powlinson, someone asks you how they might pray for you. And imagine the impact of the following response:-
…“I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and have been inattentive and irritable to those nearest and dearest to me.
For too many Christians, vagueness is the vogue; all they have is the courage of their confusions. (Anon)
Doubters invert the metaphor and insist that they need faith as big as a mountain in order to move a mustard seed. (Webb B. Garrison)
Give me the benefit of your convictions, if you have any. Keep your doubts to yourself; I have enough of my own. (Goethe)
Christ distinguished between doubt and unbelief. Doubt says, “I can’t believe.”…
“Everyone,” says James, “should be quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1:19). In context, James’ words refer both to listening to others, and listening to God in his word.
Most of us would have to agree that, while we realise that God has given us two ears but just the one mouth, the time and effort we expend in using them are not in the same proportion.
So, what qualities should we be looking to develop and improve?…
According to a recent article on the BBC News Magazine website, about one fifth of the UK population would describe themselves as ‘spiritual, but not religious’.
Recent research by Prof Michael King from University College London suggests that this group may be more prone to mental health problems such as anxiety or depression, compared with the conventionally religious, or even compared with those who would describe themselves as agnostic or atheist.
‘Spiritual, but not religious’ describe, of course, a very broad church, ranging from neo-paganism to devotees of healing crystals, and much else besides. …
As part of my current drive to be less dependent on written notes, this was a largely unscripted sermon which used the following Powerpoint presentation as a basis:-
There were just a few sections that I did script out more fully, though even these I adapted at the time of delivery:-
SLIDE 7
There are other ways of being
Lost – there is the lostness that comes from simply not knowing the God who made us and to we must give an account
Enslaved – there is the moral slavery that comes when we find ourselves trapped in repeated patterns of unhealthy thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behaviours and we can find no means of escape
Damaged – there is the damage that comes from a guilty conscience that eats away at us and stunts our spiritual and emotional growth
Storm-tossed – There is the anxiety of feeling that everything has got on top of us and we can see no rhyme nor reason in it
The human condition.…
These are the notes of a sermon preached on Sunday 29th July 2012. The Olympic Games had just opened in London, and a deliberately topical (rather than expository) approach was taken on this occasion. The underlined portions refer to the slides in this Powerpoint presentaton:
Well, it’s not been a great start for Team GB in the medal stakes. But my aim this morning is to make sure that everyone is a winner in this matter of running the Christian race.…
Words change their meanings over time. To deny this would be silly, and to try to stop it happening would be futile.
Moreover, at any one time a word can mean different things to different people. A word can have a broader, everyday, meaning, as well as a narrower technical meaning.
But sometimes a word has its meaning changed and extended so much and so fast that it becomes difficult to pin down what it anyone means by it any more.…
